On Wednesday, Maimana, the provincial capital of Faryab, witnessed one of the largest rallies of its history.

FARYAB – As a part of its spring campaign, Afghanistan National Front (ANF) continues to hold rallies in the Northern Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Maimana, the provincial capital of Faryab, the most populated province of the North witnessed one of the largest rallies of its history.
ANF, which successfully held a big rally last week in Shiberghan, Jawzjan, held its second successful rally in Faryab. Addressing tens of thousands of spectators, Ahmad Zia Massoud, the chairman of the ANF said, “The upcoming presidential election of 2014 has the role of a milestone in the peace and stability of our country… whoever tries to influence the election illegally or to steal the public mandate would commit a crime and national treason. We will not allow them to manipulate the democratic process.”

Ahmad Zia Massoud said that the substantial reforms in the political system which could accommodate the national diversity with due honor is the only path towards peace and prosperity.

Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the popular Hazara leader said, “It is up to Karzai, to adopt the democratic path or the path of Qaddafi; in the first option he might be still remembered with good name in our history but if he adopts the undemocratic path to increase the lifespan of his rule, he will face fierce resistance by Afghans.”

Mohaqiq said that government has failed to deliver on political and development fronts. Human rights, gender equality, growing corruption are the serious questions to Karzai administration.
“Government rather than thinking about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country cares about the amnesty of the terrorists,” he said.

Mohaqiq said that the demands of the National Front regarding the decentralization of Power and parliamentary form of democracy are the legitimate demands of the people of Afghanistan.

Abdur Rashid Dostum the leader of Junbish Party said, “We will abide by the democratic rule but if the efforts to derail the democracy continue, we will resist and fight for the people’s right.” “Taliban don’t believe in peace and they will not lay down their weapons nor accept the values depicted in our constitution……The peace process is flawed…… Gen. Dostum is still alive to safeguard the constitution and prevent Taliban from returning in power by undemocratic means,” he said.

Haji Aman Khairi, another top leader of the ANF, said, “Distance between people and government is increasing day by day which is because of the inefficiency of the government. The current government is not able to address the corruption and the system based on corruption.”

At the end of the rally the elders of Faryab province tied their waists with red scarf and assured their full support.

Imagine if the targets of Sydney’s drive-by shootings were not members of feuding bikie gangs but people singled out by virtue of their appearance to be shot dead while travelling to work by bus or car, shopping, attending a medical appointment or visiting relatives. It is beyond comprehension to imagine such a situation. Yet that is exactly what is happening to Hazaras in Pakistan. In recent years, armed terrorist groups have been targeting ordinary Hazara men, women and children on a weekly basis in Quetta, Pakistan. Over half a million Hazaras feel terrorized by these frenzy killings.

That is why on 10 May, over a thousand Hazara-Australians gathered in Canberra to protest against the systematic targeting of attacks on the Hazara community in Quetta, Pakistan. Men, women and children travelled by buses and cars from Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney. Marching from the Australian Parliament House to the UN office and then the Pakistani embassy, they chanted ‘we want justice,’ ‘we want security,’ ‘Hazara rights are human rights,’ and ‘why is the UN silent’?

The march was one of series of rallies organised by Hazaras around the world in the past few weeks; in Afghanistan, Pakistan, UK, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Italy, US, Canada and New Zealand.

A similar world-wide protest was organised last year but it fell on deaf ears. None of the world leaders, including Australia, have come out to condemn publically the terrorist attacks on innocent Hazara people in Pakistan.

The protest last week demanded the Australian government, public, and media to take notice of the genocide being perpetrated against Hazaras and pressure the Pakistani authority to crack down on terrorist groups.

Yet, the mainstream media in Australia has largely been silent in covering on this issue except SBS radio. Although there are a significant numbers of Hazaras in Australia they are frustrated that the plight of their family and friends in Pakistan is being ignored. The Hazara community in Australia is deeply affected by the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, now they are trying to show solidarity to those left behind through non-violence means.

It is this feeling of frustration and hopelessness that has taken so many Hazaras again onto the streets of many countries this year again.

Many of the Afghans seeking asylum in Australia and those already accepted fled persecution at the hands of terrorist groups either in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

As a Hazara from Afghanistan, I came to Australia in 2001 and have travelled to Pakistan twice since then. Each time, I witnessed violent attacks on Hazaras. The deadliest one was in September 2010 in which over 70 Hazaras were killed and over 200 wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Quetta. The house of my own relative, Ramzan Ali, was attacked by terrorists last August, killing over 12 people and injuring a few dozens. His family cowered under the rubbles miraculously survived.

However, in the past two years, the tactics have changed from suicide bombing to shootings where unknown gunmen fire on cars and buses that carry Hazara passengers.

There are nearly 600,000 Hazaras in Quetta some of whom had fled persecution in Afghanistan a century ago. There are also so many who have come to escape the Taliban. They are living in a state of terror and fear, waiting for the next moment to pass without incident. They are besieged in their own homes and areas.

Attacks since 2001 have produced a staggering human toll -over 700 have been killed and nearly 2000 injured. Not a single perpetrator who has been brought to justice by the provincial Baluchistan government. In fact, the Pakistani government is involved with the attackers. The Asian Human Rights Commissionimplicate Pakistan’s secret agency, the ISI, in financing and collaborating with terrorist organizations in Baluchistan, ‘Their main tasks include counter-insurgency, spread of Talibanization, sectarian violence, killings of Hazaras and Shias, attacks on NATO supply routes and targeting journalists and lawyers.’

The Chief Minister of Baluchistan, Nawab Raisani, has shown no sympathy for Hazara victims in the province for which he is responsible. He said in a recent comment to the media addressing the bereaved families ‘We will send over truckloads of tissue paper, so they can wipe out their sorry tears.’

In recent years, Quetta has become infested with extremist groups.After the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, Quetta which lies on the border of Afghanistan, has become a safe haven to Quetta Shura and members of the Taliban leadership including, Mullah Ommar.

Another terrorist group that freely operates in Quetta is Lashkar-e-Jhagavi (LeJ). The group has been responsible for violence against Hazaras.It is a banned by the UK, US and the Australian government.

This militant group shares strategic and ideological goals with the Taliban in Afghanistan. They consider that the Hazaras are not Muslim and their killing justified. LeJ distributed leaflet in Pakistan saying:

Just as our fighters [referring to the Taliban who massacred Hazaras in Afghanistan] have waged a successful Jihad against the Shiite Hazaras in Afghanistan, our mission in Pakistan is the eradication of this impure sect and its followers from every city, every village and every nook and corner of Pakistan.

There has been a spate of sectarian violence and terrorist attacks gripping the whole of Pakistan, targeting other minority groups like Ahmadi and Baluch. However, the Hazara situation is quite different for two reasons.

First, Hazaras, are easily identifiable because of their distinctive facial Mongol features. Last year in September, a group of 29 Hazaras travelling on a bus en route to Iran were forced to get off, leaving the non-Hazaras passengers, then lined up and shot in Mastung, Quetta.

Second, the Hazara are Shiite in a predominantly Sunni country. They have been attacked by Sunni extremist groups that view the Shiite as heretics. There are other ethnic groups in Pakistan who are Shiite (Shiite represent about 20% of population in Pakistan) but Hazaras bear the brunt of most the attacks in recent years because of their ethnicity (appearance).

The Sunni extremist ideology in Pakistan was cultivated under the military dictatorship of General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, 1977 to 1988, with the support of the United States to bolster fight against the Soviet Union. Zia Ul-Haq also had other purpose in mind in supporting the Sunni extremists; it was to counter the influence of Iranian 1979 revolution.

Also the Hazaras have been victims of regional players pitted one group against another. Saudi Arabia has been funding extremist Deobandi Sunnis and Wahabis in Pakistan since the Afghan Jihad while Iran supporting the Shiite militant groups such as Sipah-e-Muhammad. They were in fierce battle, attacking each other, causing many deaths.

Haqqani, the former ambassador to the US wrote in New York Times last week that Pakistan is the only country in the world that commemorated the anniversary of Osama Bin Ladin’s death.Thus we should all be concerned about the violence in, and the future of, a nuclear armed Pakistan. No one wants to see the terrorist groups who got free reign in Pakistan to get hold of nuclear bomb. Unimaginable things would happen.

The plight of Hazara maybe invisible to the world as they are not in the headlines but what is unfolding in Quetta is genocide with the implications for peace far beyond Pakistan. Hazaras stretch out their hands to the world and hope the human rights groups, governments and peace loving people will act soon before it is too late.

QUETTA: Two brothers belonging to Hazara community were gunned down in front of the regional passport office off Joint Road on Tuesday.

According to a senior police officer, the victims, identified as Muhammad Tahir and Muhammad Qadir, had come to the post office for their passports and were attacked outside its main gate at 7:15am. The assailants were on a motorbike and fled the scene after the killing.

“The two brothers were standing outside the main gate of the office and were killed on the spot, while another man of Hazara community received bullet wounds,” police confirmed.

The bodies and injured were taken to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital, where stringent security measures were in place to thwart any further attempt of terrorism. The injured, Manzoor Ali, was referred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) due to security reasons, hospital sources said. “It was a sectarian target killing,” a senior investigating officer said.

No immediate claim of responsibility was made. Police registered a case and further investigations were underway. It is pertinent to mention here that around 28 people of Hazara community have been killed during the recent wave of targeted killings.

SHIBERGHAN – At the start of its spring campaign Afghanistan National Parties held a big public rally in Shiberghan, Jowzjan province on Wednesday. Addressing the rally Afghanistan National Front (ANF) leaders accused the government for promoting corruption and ill governance. They welcomed the US-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) but blamed president Karzai for misinterpreting parts of the agreement for personal gain. The speakers once again asked for the change of political system from presidential to parliamentary form of democracy and decentralization of power with elected local governors.

“Our demand is in accordance with the constitution, it is just a misleading propaganda by the government that our demands are beyond constitution, I ask them to read the article 136 and 137 of the our constitution which support the decentralization of power and the set of our demands which is not depicted in the constitution, there are ways for the amendment of the constitution,” said Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq.

Addressing the largest rally after the formation of the opposition alliance Gen. Abdur Rashid Dostum said, “ANF supports peace initiative by any country either it is Qatar or Saudi Arabia but Taliban has to renounce the violence, lay down their weapons and detach them from Al-Qaeda… if they tried to regain power by violence the people of Afghanistan will resist and stand by their National Security Forces.”"we will not tolerate Taliban to lapse the rights of our women and civil society,” he said.

Ahmad Zia Massoud, the chairman of the ANF said, “Government is failed to fulfill the basic demand of the people. It is the time for a change since the present administration lost its capacity and the self-confidence to address the legitimate demand of people which is nothing but simple a peaceful and honorable life.” “There won’t be a single step back with regards to out righteous demand since this is the only way forward to bring peaceful balanced system and the only path toward an accountable system,” he added.

Haji Aman Khairi said, “the demand of decentralization is not confined to a specific region, ethnic or lingual group of our country but it is a countrywide demand. The people of South and East also need the elected and fair local administration.”

It was the largest rally of ANF in the northern city of Shiberghan, around 30 to 35 thousand people attended the rally. The attendees supported the resolution by standing up and loudly chanting of “Allah Akbar.”
The resolution contains the following points:
1. Keeping in view the present state of situation and the outlook of post 2014 Afghanistan, we support the decision of ANF for welcoming the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between Afghanistan and the USA. At the same time it is to be mentioned that we condemn all sort of manipulation of the SPA by the ruling circles in particular in wrong explanation of the article of the agreement which contradicts the article 4 of the constitution which insists on the sovereignty of the country.

2. We understand that peace and stability has been prime needs of our dear country but unfortunately witness that the peace process has been unilateral and Taliban never desire for peace. Since Taliban have not yet renounced violence nor denounced Al- Qaeda we express our concerns over the government’s ignorance of the violent activities of Taliban and denying them as a real strategic threat. That’s why we strongly support the proposal of ANF for a transparent, comprehensive and honorable peace in our country.

3. We understand that Elections is the heart of democracy and demand for transparent, free and fair presidential and provincial councils’ elections. We also warn that any attempt to repeat efforts for stealing the mandate of the people would bear the grave consequences for our country. Therefore we strongly support the joint statement of the Afghanistan National Front and the National Coalition of Afghanistan dated 23,04,2012 and call upon political parties and civil society to join hands in this regards

4. We strongly support the righteous demand of the ANF for Changing of the presidential System to Parliamentary form of democracy, elected provincial and district governors and devolution of power from center to peripheries by empowerment of the provincial councils. We believe that accountable administration in center, provinces and the districts would properly respond to the basic demands of the people and may help in curbing corruption and ill-governance and help the country to proceed on the path of development and prosperity.

5. We assure the leadership council of the ANF of our indestructible support to achieve the aims and objectives of the Front to change our country into a land of peace, prosperity and social justice
Source: http://outlookafghanistan.net

Photo: Reuters

We discuss the increased attacks on the Hazara community in Quetta and minority rights in Pakistan.

Former Home Secretary and MP Hull Alan Johnson addressing to Hazaras protesters in front of Pakistan Embassy London.

LONDON: Government of Pakistan must make sure safety of Hazaras in Quetta and those involved in the killing of Hazaras must be brought to justice, says former Home Secretary and MP Hull Alan Johnson here while addressing to Hazaras protestors in front of Pakistan Embassy London.

I’m here to express my solidarity with Hazaras who face ethnic cleansing in Balochistan and underlined the government of Pakistan to take the issue seriously and urged to take action against the perpetrators.

While expressing his concern over the plight of Hazaras, Alan Johnson maintained that over 700 Hazaras had been killed and the government didn’t seem ready to protect Hazaras by bringing criminals to justice.

“Since the parliamentary debate on March 1^st, 2012, scores of Hazaras have been killed and targeted that’s why it is very increasing concern for our parliament and I think your demonstration today will raise the profile of this issue and will draw the attention of other parliamentarians to what’s going on so the concentrated actions through the UN, Foreign office, European Union can ensure that we stop what is a horrendous killings and the Hazaras can live in peace in a country that they have done too much to contribute over the years”, he explained.

He condemned the recent wave of the killings of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan and criticised Pakistani government for being ineffective in taking effective measures against the perpetrators who persecute Hazaras on daily basis and with impunity.

It’s responsibility of the government to protect minorities and all possible measures need to be taken to ensure minorities rights in Pakistan, he said and further added that British government was in close connection with government of Pakistan in addressing minorities rights.

Addressing to the protesters, Ali Hikimi vowed to keep protesting with full extend if the killings of Hazras didn’t stop and asserted that Hazaras wouldn’t be left alone in difficult times.

He called upon the Hazaras to remain united to fight terrorism by peaceful means and maintained that present government had totally failed in view of providing protection to Hazras in Quetta Pakistan.

Jafar Attai a Hazara Intellectual addressing to the protestors said that it was matter of great sorrow that the government of Pakistan was unable to stop the killings of Hazaras in Quetta going for more than a decade.

At the end of the protest, a memorandum was also presented to Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s High Commission to the UK.

Sama Naaz, Luci Woodland Chairperson of Friends of Hazaras, Habib Ahmedi also spoke to the protestors.

The protestors were chanting slogans like Down with terrorism, Stop target killings of Hazaras, Down with sectarian violence and Balochistan Government must be dissolved.

Hundreds of  Hazaras from all over UK attended the protest.

A hunger strike have been started in Tanjung Pinang camp, Indonesia against the worse policy of unhcr and dule process of cases in camp. Hazara asylum seekers were thinking the UNHCR do have any clear and positive policy for asylum seekers. But now everything the same as past.

The asylum seekers demanding changes and speedy in process of their cases.

LONDON: Government of Pakistan must make sure safety of Hazaras in Quetta and those involved in the killing of Hazaras must be brought to justice, says former Home Secretary and MP Hull Alan Johnson here while addressing to Hazaras protestors in front of Pakistan Embassy London.

I’m here to express my solidarity with Hazaras who face ethnic cleansing in Balochistan and underlined the government of Pakistan to take the issue seriously and urged to take action against the perpetrators.

While expressing his concern over the plight of Hazaras, Alan Johnson maintained that over 700 Hazaras had been killed and the government didn’t seem ready to protect Hazaras by bringing criminals to justice.

“Since the parliamentary debate on March 1st, 2012, scores of Hazaras have been killed and targeted that’s why it is very increasing concern for our parliament and I think your demonstration today will raise the profile of this issue and will draw the attention of other parliamentarians to what’s going on so the concentrated actions through the UN, Foreign office, European Union can ensure that we stop what is a horrendous killings and the Hazaras can live in peace in a country that they have done too much to contribute over the years”, he explained.

He condemned the recent wave of the killings of Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan and criticised Pakistani government for being ineffective in taking effective measures against the perpetrators who persecute Hazaras on daily basis and with impunity.

It’s responsibility of the government to protect minorities and all possible measures need to be taken to ensure minorities rights in Pakistan, he said and further added that British government was in close connection with government of Pakistan in addressing minorities rights.

Addressing to the protesters, Ali Hikimi vowed to keep protesting with full extend if the killings of Hazras didn’t stop and asserted that Hazaras wouldn’t be left alone in difficult times.

He called upon the Hazaras to remain united to fight terrorism by peaceful means and maintained that present government had totally failed in view of providing protection to Hazras in Quetta Pakistan.

Jafar Attai a Hazara Intellectual addressing to the protestors said that it was matter of great sorrow that the government of Pakistan was unable to stop the killings of Hazaras in Quetta going for more than a decade.

At the end of the protest, a memorandum was also presented to Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s High Commission to the UK.

Sama Naaz, Luci Woodland Chairperson of Friends of Hazaras, Habib Ahmedi also spoke to the protestors.

The protestors were chanting slogans like Down with terrorism, Stop target killings of Hazaras, Down with sectarian violence and Balochistan Government must be dissolved.

Hundreds of Hazaras from all over UK attended the protest.